


happily ever after

by DaSaltInDaPeppermill



Category: Cinderella (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Gay, Gay Character, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Male Cinderella, Trans, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28026795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaSaltInDaPeppermill/pseuds/DaSaltInDaPeppermill
Summary: James is struggling with being stuck in life as Cinderella when he just wants to be himself.Prince Paul wishes everyone would realize he wants to marry a Man.
Relationships: Cinderella/Prince (Cinderella - Fairy Tale), Prince (Cinderella - Fairy Tale)/Original Male Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. James

Once upon a time...

James blinked slowly, then shot straight up in his bed. Awoken by the usual screeching of stepmother and sisters he was already dreading the day to come, as he did every day. Squeezing into the too tight dress and doing up his hair that feeling got even worse. He always felt so confined in these women’s clothes, and maybe this was the worst thing his stepmother ever did to him: forcing him into a girl. Not only did he have a girls body, no, he had to wear dresses and keep his hair long, so everyone would know, even if all he ever did was clean the house all day. He knew his stepmom did this just to anger him, after all, no one would see him anyways and she wanted him to be ugly, so there would be no harm at all in him looking like a boy.  
Forcing down a sob he made his way down the stairs, finally exiting the claustrophobic space that was his bedroom. In the living room he found his stepsisters chattering excitedly, trying on dresses. Silk and pearls were spread all over the floor, and every other available surface. A strange man was taking Celine’s measurements, while Flora was screaming at Thomas, a young servant boy, to 'just f***ing get me the laced gloves already'. James just stood by the door, patiently awaiting an explanation, as he didn’t really enjoy talking much, his high pitched voice always made him feel bad. After a few seconds it became clear that no one was going to tell him anything, so he started to make his way back up the stairs slowly, hoping no one would notice his retreat. Maybe he could hide out in his room and his stepmother wouldn’t realize he was gone for at least a bit, so he could practice a bit of singing, and this would become a good day after all.  
Alas, James had no such luck. Just as he was nearly out of view the stepmother, or much rather stepmonster, entered the scene. "Cinderella, what do you think you’re doing?! Get your ass back here right now, or you know what I’ll do."  
Slowly, James made his way back towards the three furies waiting. Then, the tirade began: "How dare you disrespect me like that? I told you to get down, didn’t I? Just wait till I tell your father missy, and if this repeats itself just once, I’ll burn all of your dear old mothers stuff, you hear me?!" He nodded, but apparently that wasn’t enough for her, because it set her right off again: "do you hear me?! Answer! I won’t take this silence from you any longer, if you don’t open up, you’ll see how I make you speak." Slowly, James muttered out a "Yes" before shrinking back in shock, and correcting himself to "Yes Ma‘am".  
The stepmonster gave a grim smile and began listing a row of chores, from hanging the washing and doing Celine‘s hair to cleaning out the dovecote outside his window. At that he gave a quick smile, he’d always loved the doves.  
It was going to be a fine day after all.  
A week went on like this, and James finally discovered what all the excitement had been about, the prince was inviting for a grand ball at the palace. He hadn’t been able to gather why his stepsisters were invited, they were far enough from royal that they should have been lucky to have the prince spare them a look on a visit to town, but no more than that. It didn’t really matter though, as he wouldn’t be going anyways, that much the stepmonster had made clear.  
This made him quite sad, as the prince, Paul, actually was a pretty beautiful fellow, as far as he could tell from the pictures. He would have liked to be able to dance with him, even, and this was quite surprising, if it was as a woman. But no use mourning a never been love, he had loads of chores to do, so he turned his focus back to those.  
The day of the ball came, and he was feeling much worse than anticipated, not only about not being able to go, but especially because his stepsisters were. At the mere image of Celine or Flora dancing with the prince he wanted to puke and cry at the same time.  
He couldn’t go on this way! But there was nothing he could do. Disheartened James sat down for a moment, resting his face in his hands. A small tear ran down his chin, but was quickly wiped off. There had to be something... in an effort do distract himself, he made his way to the gardens, wandering around between rows of green herbs and ripe vegetables. Walking further and further the boy found his way towards a very special place, a small hazel bush at the very edge of the property. It was the one place he’d always visited whenever the furies had been especially bad. His mother’s grave. He liked to imagine she would have accepted him as the boy he was, but in truth he knew the low likelihood of that.  
Now, up on the tree two of his doves were perched, nestled into the branches and chirping to each other. For some unfathomable reason this was the thing that broke James down completely. Falling to his knees he started sobbing, his voice cracked and tears streaming down his face like rivers. He couldn’t remember when he’d last cried like this, but now every last floodgate had opened, and with a shaky voice, still crying, he started to pray.  
When he finally raised his gaze from the ground James noticed a small package, sitting in the dirt in front of him like it had always been there. He knew it hadn’t, though. Surely he would have noticed if it had been there when he had come.  
Still shaken up from the moments before, he carefully picked up the package as if it were made from glass, not daring to open it just yet.  
Of course, he knew the stories, everyone knew them. Of fairy godmothers, ghosts, spirits and witches. He hadn’t really believed in them before, but maybe...  
A tiny spark of hope grew inside him, bright like the flame of a candle in a black room, but was squashed again immediately by the growing dread, that was: what if the fairy doesn’t know I’m a boy? What if she gave me a dress? Would I be forced to go in a dress or not at all? And what if she knows, but she thinks I’m lying, just as the furies do?  
Now, confronted with this new possibility James was, if possible, feeling even worse then before, but he noticed the candle inside him was still glimmering. Only weakly, but it was there. He had a tiny bit of hope left. And so, before he could change his mind the young boy ripped open the paper, careful not to get any dirt on the contents.  
A tiny smile bloomed on his lips as he looked at what had to be the most beautiful robes he had ever seen. They were a pale blue, and more importantly, they were a dress shirt and pants, a boys outfit.  
He jumped up as fast as possible, carefully cradling his treasure in his arms, and ran back towards the house, heading straight for his room. In there he finally felt safe and dared to look at the present more closely. Hands shaking he pulled out of the paper completely, holding in front of him a piece of cloth that looked like it was supposed to go around his torso, flattening his chest. His smile grew wider and wider at having finally been understood by someone. Along with the cloth he had the blue shirt, black pants, a beautiful black mask, decorated with silver ornaments to cover half of his face, and what looked to be shoes made from glass...?  
Trying on the clothes he noticed that the pants and shirt were, in fact, a little too wide for him, but perfect in exactly that way, as they did a great job hiding all of his curves, making him look almost like a guy. The chest binder hurt a little, but once he made his way to the living room mirror he decided it was definitely worth it. The mask hid his identity very well, but sadly still showed enough of his face to make it clear he looked like a girl, so he reached down into the ashes of the fireplace, carefully painting his face in delicate patterns. Dark swirls like waves and wind now decorated his face. Lastly, tying his hair into a pony tale made him look masculine enough, he though, no way could he cut it, so this was the only option really.  
Rushing out of the front door though, James suddenly realized that he had no way of getting to the ball at all. Luckily, this concern was soon cleared, as outside waited a horse, saddled and ready. Swinging himself onto the beautiful stallions back excitement started to bubble up, nearly drowning out all the feat he had of being discovered. Then, a wide smile on his face, the wind in his hair, not even feeling the cold air reddening his cheeks, James made his way towards the castle.


	2. Paul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry 4 different chapter lengths

Paul sighed. It was so like his parents to arrange something like this. And it had to be a ball too, out of all things, a f***ing ball! Gritting his teeth he got ready, slipping into the clothes the royal dressmaker had picked out for him. He didn’t really care what he looked like anyways, the invited girls didn’t interest him one bit. That was the problem. That he would have to marry a girl. A woman. He wished people would just be okay with him falling for a man too, but that was something looked down upon by his parents, and so, the entire kingdom. Straightening up he made his way down towards the ballroom, he’d just have to get this over with.  
As expected, the event was as dull as could be, every girl in the room seemed to want to talk to him, dance with him, and yet no one seemed interested in him at all. He was used to this of course, being the prince, but still experiencing it from all of these people at once was a lot to take. Everything passed pretty uneventfully, until he decided to take a bit of fresh air, and made his way outside. There, leaning on the icy railing his eyes fell on an approaching horse, a black stallion, in the saddle a dark figure with the face masked by a black hood and cloak billowing behind. Paul’s hand made its way to his side for a moment, where on normal days a saber would hang. Today it wasn’t there of course, so he quickly glanced over his shoulders to check if the guards were still there. They were.  
Just then he could hear the horse coming to a stop, so he quickly swivelled back around, eyes focused on the figure now coming up the stairs towards him. When the person reached the platform and lowered their hood, he saw the partly masked face of a beautiful prince, looking at him with a small smile.


	3. James

When James arrived he was surprised to see man standing outside, seeming a little lost alone on the huge balcony. Quickly climbing the stairs he walked up to the guy, smiling and introducing himself: "Hello Sir, my name is Cinder, with who do I have the honor?" The guy, quite beautiful as James noticed, smiled back. "My name is Paul, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Cinder." For a moment they stood there in a pleasant silence, until it hit James: "Wait! Prince Paul?" The prince chuckled and gave a small nod, but before James could do something stupid, like bow, he held out his hand, and said: "Could I ask for this dance, sir Cinder?" The boy was shocked, but somehow he let himself be pulled into the ballroom by the prince, and within seconds they were slowdancing, oblivious to the jealous stares of the girls, and the disgusted looks of everyone else. Oblivious to the gasps of outrage, to the king and queen clutching each others hands tightly and to the musicians stopping the music. The two boys noticed none of that, because in that moment, they were alone. They were flying. They were finally free. James looked deeply into the green eyes of the prince, and for the first time he felt completely safe. Safe in Paul’s warm arms. Safe as a boy. In that Moment, they weren’t the prince and Cinder, they weren’t Paul and James, they were just two boys dancing. And that was the best thing either of them had ever been.  
When the dance was over James noticed how everyone was staring at them, and immediately he wanted to run away. In fact, he was sure he would have, if he hadn’t felt Paul slowly wrap an arm around his waist. So, he just stood there, frozen in embarrassment and shock. Somehow he couldn’t even begin to fathom what had just happened.   
Why would the prince have danced with him? Did he know James wasn’t a boy by birth? Oh god, what if he saw him as a girl? Everyone else obviously still though he was a boy, but what if Paul exposed him? The furies would recognize him.   
Reminded, his gaze swept the room, and finally he recognized the three familiar faces. The stepmonster looked outraged and disgusted, his sisters just seemed to be in shock. Startled by the hatred showing on the monsters face he accidentally locked eyes with her for a second. Even though he had averted his gaze quickly he could have sworn he had seen a spark of recognition change her expression, so quickly he tore himself away from the prince and sprinted outside. Just as he was outside on the stairs he heard the big clock strike midnight through the screams and babble coming from the ballroom. As he swung himself onto his horse quick as the wind, he caught a glimpse of a figure standing on the balcony, outlined by the bright light streaming out from inside. Paul.


	4. Paul

Paul spent the entire next day brooding, thinking about the night. Why had Cin run? Something had frightened him, he was sure of it. Only what?  
He knew, he needed to see the mysterious man again. And he knew how to. Another ball, if Cin wanted to see him again he would come. And if he didn’t... Well, then that’d be for the better.  
So, that night, a second ball was held at the kings castle, the King having been delighted to hear his son wanted to spend another night finding a suitable princess. The dance of the day before had already been near to forgotten by a the time the guests arrived, only Paul was desperately searching for a familiar face in the crowd. A face he couldn’t seem to spot anywhere. As the evening went on he became more and more hopeless, slowly accepting a reality where he would never see the mysterious beauty again.  
Then, at around eleven, when the ball was already in full swing, the guests already lightly drunk, the spirits high, the giant double doors swung open once more. Cin was back. Without a word Paul ditched his dance partner, a young woman who was way to chatty for his liking, and made his way quickly towards him. "Hey." He said, as he finally reached him. "Hey Paul, I’m sorry I’m late, had some stuff to do first." Slowly, Cin placed an arm around the Prince’s waist, and again they began to dance.  
When the clock struck twelve the mysterious man fled again, so, lacking any other option the prince decided that another ball was in order. The next night repeated the events of the last two, and was just as wonderful, but still ended in Paul standing on the dance floor alone.  
Hoping to catch a last glimpse of the guy, Paul made his way outside, and when the cloaked rider had disappeared from view he noticed a glint of light on the stairs. His eyes focused on what appeared to be a shoe, made entirely of glass. Now what the hell was that about...? Why would anyone choose to dance in a shoe of glass? That had to be so uncomfortable. Well, that didn’t matter now, the shoe was a clue, and if not even that, at least a memory. Slowly Paul picked the treasure up, careful not to break it. He would find the person this belonged to, even if it meant searching the entire kingdom and beyond. He would find his prince.  
The shoe was small, as if made for a woman, but definitely cut like a man’s. That was a bit peculiar, but then again maybe Cin just had extraordinarily small feet. So, Paul made a plan. He’d just visit every home in the area that had been invited, and check all the men of a fitting age there, to see if the shoe fit.  
As expected, many, many houses were failures. One of the last homes he visited was a farm. Quite big, but not huge, quite pretty but not beautiful. Normal. Tentatively, and admittedly kind of scared of being disappointed again, he knocked. The door creaked open slowly, revealing a fidgety servant boy who quietly asked him his business, without opening the door much wider than his shoulders width. As soon as he stated his name the boy ran away, and a few minutes later a woman came, finally opening the doors and inviting him in. She introduced herself as the farm’s housewife and led him into a room where he was more or less forced to 'enjoy' a cup of tea with her daughters, who he remembered from the ball as quite obnoxious and annoyingly giggly. Finally he got control of the conversation for long enough that he was able to ask his question and pull out the glass shoe he had kept safely in his bag. At the name 'Cinder' he noticed the woman’s interest perk up, but soon the all masked it and assured him there was no man with such name working at the farm. A tiny bit suspicious, but mostly just disappointed, Paul made his way back towards his horse, but just as he had reached the gate he picked up something that sounded like singing. And he thought he recognized the voice. 


	5. James

James was devastated. When he’d heard the strange voice in the living room, of course he’d snuck towards the door to listen in, find out what the stepmonster was up to now. Only too late had he realized the person talking to seemed to be the prince, looking for him. Realizing that he was going to be exposed and never be able to see Paul ever against he fled, hiding inside the dovecote. Now he realized the flaw in using the name Cinder, why hadn’t he seen earlier? It may have nothing to do with his real name, James, but everyone thought his name was Cinderella, so of course the stepmonster was going to make the connection, now that she had heard the name. F**k. This was going to be bad. Very bad. So, missing alternatives, he was now here. Cramped into the tiny dovecote, quietly singing to himself to calm his nerves, hoping no one would ever find him. It was a ridiculous plan, and of course it wasn’t going to work, but he could hope, couldn’t he? What else was left?   
Now, even though he had expected to be found, he definitely hadn’t anticipated it happening so fast, or for that matter, by that particular person. Because when the door opened slowly the face that appeared, smiling at him wasn’t the stepmonster. It wasn’t one of the furies. It wasn’t one of the servants. It was a very certain prince, one that he’d been crying about just moments before. "Paul?" He asked, quietly. He didn’t want to be seen like this, cramped, eyes swollen, wearing a dress and looking like, well, a woman. "Hey, Cinder... it’s fine." The prince whispered, and only then he realized he’d started to cry again. After they’d both climbed back to the ground Paul closed his arms around James protectively, and held him in a safe embrace while he cried. When he had finally calmed down a bit he managed to choke out the words: "you... you don’t think this is weird? Do you still want to be with me, after finding out I’m... this...?" Carefully the prince placed a kiss on his forehead, and answered, softly: "of course, my prince, this doesn’t change anything. Your outsides don’t matter to me, never have. Only thing important is who you are inside." At that, he placed a hand on James‘ chest, like he was feeling his heartbeat. "Thanks..." he whispered. "Oh, and... my name is James. Cinder was just... so you wouldn’t find me." That earned him a small chuckle from the other boy. "Well, that certainly didn’t work out now, did it? But tell you what, I’m glad it didn’t." "Yeah... I am too." With that, the two boys finally sank into a long awaited, long needed kiss.

...and they lived happily ever after.


End file.
